Device for mounting tire bead rings upon the bead applying annulus of tire building machines



Aug. 2, 1949. BRETH 2,477,718

DEvIcE FOR MOUNTING TIRE BEAD RINGS UPON THE BEAD I APPLYING ANNULUs OF TIRE BUILDING MACHINES Original Filed June 14, 1944 ,2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I INVENTOR TVs alter J'- Breth ATTORNEYS Aug 2, 1949 w. J. BRETH 2,477,718

DEVICE FOR MOUNTING TIRE BEAD RINGS UPON THE BEAD APPLYING ANNULUS OE TIRE BUILDING MACHINES Original Filed June- 14, 19 44 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fi9n4 45 INVENTOR Walter J; Breth ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 2, 1949 DEVICE FOR MOUNTING TIRE BEAD RINGS UPON THE BEAD APPLYING ANNULUS OF TIRE BUILDING MACHINES Walter J. Breth, Akron, Ohio, as'sig'nor to The General Tire and Rubber Company, Akron, Ohio, a corporation of- Ohio Original application June 14, 1944, Serial No. 540,306, now Patent No. 2,455,038, November 30, 1948. Divided and this application November 13, 1946, Serial No. 709,608

Claims. 1

This invention relates to a device for mounting tire bead rings upon the bead applying annulus of a tire building machine, and is a division of my copending application SerialNo. 540,306, filed June 14, 1944, now Patent No. 2,455,038, November 30, 1948.

The invention has for its object to provide a device for automatically transferring a bead ring from a temporary support upon which it fits loosely, to a bead applying annulus that has a snug fit within the ring and that is adapted to press the bead ring axially against the shoulder of a tire building drum.

With the above and other objects in view, the I invention may be said to comprise the transfer device as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, hereinafter described and particularly set forth in the appended claims, together with such variations and modifications thereof as will be apparent to one skilled in the art to which the invention pertains.

Reference should be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which:

Figure 1 is a transverse vertical section through the drum shaft of a tire building machine between the drum and bead applying mechanism and showing the bead applying mechanism in elevation; Fig. 2 is an axial section through the bead supporting annulus and associated mechanisms;

Fig. 3 is an axial section showing the mounting of the bead applying annulus;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view showing r the bead ring on the temporary support prior to its transfer to the bead applying annulus;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 showing the transfer device in expanded position and the bead port for a conventional collapsible tire building drum (not shown) which is connected by suitable linkage to the sleeve and shaft so as to be expanded or collapsed by relative rotary movements of the sleeve and shaft as is common practice in the art.

The tire building machine has a plurality of axially movable annular members coaxial with the shaft 3 beyond one end of the drum. The machine to which the device of the present invention has been applied includes an annulus 24 that is carried by two identical diametrically opposed axially extending bars 25 that are mounted for endwise movement and adapted to be reciprocated axially by suitable means such as connecting rods 28. The rods 28 are connected to brackets 3| attached to the bars 25 by bolts 32, the brackets 3| beingprovided with inwardly projecting flanges 33. A bead ring applying annulus 34 is concentric with the annulus 24 and is mounted for movement within the annulus 24 toward and away from the tire building drum. The annulus 34 is provided with a rabbeted bead ring seat 35 which fits snugly within ,thebead ring to be applied to a tire carcass. As shown in Fig. 3, supporting brackets 36 attached to the annulus 34 are slidable on the bars 25 and carry rods 3'! parallel with the bars 25 and slidable in apertures in the flanges 33 of. the brackets 3|. Coil springs 38 surround the rods 3'! and are interposed between the brackets 3| and 36.

The head ring applying annulus 34 normally travels with the annulus 24. but when the inward movement of the annulus 34 is impeded the springs 38 will yield and permit the annulus 2.4 to advance beyond the annulus 34. In applying the bead ring, the inward movement of the annulus 34 is stopped when the bead ring is pressed against the shoulder of the tirev building drum and the annulus 24 carries a stitching annulus 40 in the form of an endless coil spring connected to the annulus 24 by a series of radiallydisposed links 4!. The annulus 40 serves to stitch portions of the fabric overlying the shoulder portion of the drum. The bead ring is applied to carcass fabric which has been folded over an end shoulder of the drum, and for the purpose of so folding the fabric the machine is provided with a contractible endless coil spring annulus 42 that is adapted to be expanded to a diameter greater than that of the drum and to be contracted upon fabric projecting beyond the end of the drum to fold the fabric over the drum shoulder. The contractible annulus 42 is carried by axially extending arms 43 that are rigidly attached to the outer end of radial bars 44 that are slidably mounted in radially disposed dovetail slots 45 in the outer face of a disk 46 that is slidably mounted on the sleeve 4.

Suitable means is provided for simultaneously imparting radial outward movements of the arms 4| and 43 to expand the annulus 42. This movement is accomplished by means of identical toggles each consisting of an inner radially disposed link 41 pivoted to the hub of thedisk 46, and an outer radially disposed link 48 pivoted to the outer end of one of the arms 43. The toggle links 41 and 48 are connected at their outer and inner ends respectively by pivots 49 and 50 to the inner ends of elongated axial-1y extending actuating links 5! which are pivotally connected at their outer ends to a disk 52 that is mounted to slide axially upon a sleeve 53 that iii-turn slides on the sleeve 4. The movement of the disk 52 on the sleeve 53 is limited by a collar 54 on the outer end of the sleeve and by a flange 55 at the inner end of the sleeve. Movement maybe imparted to the disk 52 by engagement of the collar 54 or flange 55 therewith when the sleeve 53 is shifted axially on the sleeve 4. The disk 4.51s moved-toward and away from the end of the drum bysuitable means such as an actuating rod 56 indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2. The sliding :sleeve 53 'may be moved axially on the sleeve 4 .by suitable means such as rods 60 attached to the collar-.54.

In the operation of the machine the spring annulus 42 is initially supported in the position shown in Fig. 2 and after the fabric forming the body of a tire carcass isapplied to the drum, the annulus $2 .is expanded by simultaneously imparting radial outward movement .to the radial bars M to which the supporting arms d3 are attached. The annulus 42, after it has expanded, is moved axially toward the end of the drum to position the annulus around the projecting end of the fabric on the drum. The annulus 52 isthen contracted to 'fold the fabric inwardly-over the drum shoulder vand the bead applying annulus I38 is moved axially over the disk 45 and thean- 2,313,035, granted March 9, 1943, a substantially identical bead applying mechanism is provided at t e opposite end of the drum on a frame that is mounted for movement toward and away from the end of the drum topermit removal of a completed tire fromthedrum, and the bead ring is placed in the beadapplying mechanism on the movable frame while the .frame is in retracted position.

.The annulus 34 is preferably in the form of a rigid ring and its bead ringseat 35isof a diameter to fit snugly within the bead ring E. Tofacilitate the placing of the bead ring 'E on the seats 3-5. the disk has four or more. angularly spaced brackets I12 attached thereto adjacent its periphcry, and these brackets have arms H3 that project radially outwardly and carry hinge pivots .114 for a series of seatingplates I15 that normally rest upon the outer faces of certain of the arms 43 when these arms are in their retracted positions. The pivots H4 are so located that the outer faces of the plates I15 lie slightly within the periphery of the seat 35 so as to provide a temporary bead ring support that is small enough in diameter to permit the bead ring E to be quickly and easily placed thereon. When the arms 43 are moved radially outwardly the plates 115 will be simultaneously swung outwardly and the simultaneous outward swinging movements of the plates 115 expands them within the interior of the bead ring and tilts them toward the bead seat 35 so as to simultaneously exert a radial outward thrust on the interior of the bead rin and a lateral thrust thereon to move the same onto the seat 35 so that the bead ring is properly positioned for application to the tire carcass after the folding operations are performed by the annulus 42.

It is to be understood thatvariations and modifications of the specific device'herein shown and described 'for purposes of illustration, may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. In a 'tire'building machine a bead applying annulus having a circular bead ring seat, an independently movable expansible bead ring support of less diameter than said seat and positioned'latera'lly of said annulus and alongside said seat, and .means for expanding said support to transfer :a bead ring from said support to said seat.

2. In a tire building machine a bead applying annulus having a circular bead ring seat, an

independently movable expansible bead ring support of less diameter than said seat and .p0sitioned laterally of said annulus and alongside said sea't,.means for expanding said support to transfer a beadring from said support to saidseat, and means for moving said annulus axially over said support.

3. In a tire building machine a bead applying annulus having a circular bead ring seat, an independently movable .expansible bead ring support of less diameter than said seat and positionedflaterally of said annulus and alongside said seat, and means for expanding said bead ring support and for simultaneously tilting the same toward said seat to transfer .a bead ring to said support.

4. .In a tire building machine a bead applying annulus comprising a ciroumferentially continuous ring having a rabbeted edge portion forming a bead ring seat, .a circular member of less diameter than said bead ring seat, a series of closely spaced axially extending arms con- ,nected to said member to swing radially about axes adjacent said seat, means on said member for normally retaining said arms substantially parallel to the axis to provide a bead ring support alongside said seat of slightly less diameter than said seat, and means for simultaneously swinging said arms outwardly about their axes to incline said arms toward said seat to transfer a bead ring to said seat.

5. In a tire building machine a bead applying annulus comprising a circumferentially continuous ring having a .bead seat along an edge thereof, a disk of less diameter than said annulus and adapted to be positioned alongside said bead seat, closely spaced arms overlying the periphery of said disk and pivoted at the ends thereof adjacent said seat to .swing radially, said arms forming a bead ring support of slightly less diameter than said seat, radially movable members carried by said disk and movable outwardly to swingsaid arms outwardly about their pivots to incline the same toward said seat, and means for simultaneously moving said radially movable members outwardly to swing said arms to their inclined positions to transfer a bead ring from said arms to said seat.

WALTER J. BRETH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,200,014 Paridon Oct. 3, 1916 1,647,164 Wikle Nov. 1, 192? 2,034,642 Stevens Mar. 17, 1936 

